THE DISTRIBUTION OF BIRD LIFE IN THE URUBAMBA VALLEY OF PERU UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM Bu

We have had nocollecting stationsbetween La Raya andCuzco,butthe presence in Whiteley's collections from Tinta altitude 11,329 feet, about 12 kilometersnorthofSicuani, ofDiglossabrunneiv

UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM

Bulletin 117

AREPORT ON THEBIRDSCOLLECTEDBYTHE

YALE UNIVERSITY-NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

U.

UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM

Bulletin 117

AREPORT ON THEBIRDSCOLLECTEDBYTHE

YALE UNIVERSITY-NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

The scientificpublications of the United States NationalMuseum

J

consists of two series, the Proceedings and the Bulletins

TheProceedings, the first volume ofwhich was issued in 1878, areintended primarily as a medium for the publication of original, and

usually brief, papers based on the collections of the NationalMuseum, presenting newly acquired facts in zoology, geology, and

anthropology, including descriptions of new forms of animals and

revisions oflimited groups Oneor two volumes areissued annually

and distributed to libraries and scientific organizations A limitednumberof copies of each paper, in pamphlet form, is distributed tospecialists and others interested in the different subjects as soon asprinted Thedateofpublicationisrecordedin the tablesofcontents

of the volume

The Bulletins, the first of which was issued in 1875, consist of a

series of separate publications comprising chiefly monographs of

large zoological groups and other general systematic treatises

(occa-sionally in several volumes), faunal works, reports of expeditions,

and catalogues of type-specimens, special collections, etc. The

ma-jority of thevolumesareoctavos,butaquarto sizehas been adopted

in a few instances in which large plates were regarded as

indis-pensable

Since 1902 a series of octavo volumes containing papers relating

to thebotanical collections of the Museum, and known as the

Con-tributions from the National Herbarium, has been published asbulletins

The present work forms No 117 of the Bulletin series.

William deC Ravenel,Administrative Assistant to theSecretary,

Inchargeofthe UnitedStates National Museum Washington, D.C, March 19, 1921

3

List of speciesandsubspecies described 40 Distributional list of the 380 speciesaDd subspecies of birds known fromthe

Upper: Headwatersof theUrubambaRiveratLaRayaPass.

Plate3.

Upper:Campat Ttica-Ttica.

Lower:HuaracondoRiverand (in the distance)town 16

Plate4.

Upper:HuaracondoCanyonat its entrance totheUrubambaCanyon

Lower: Looldng down the Urubamba River, toward Mount Salcantay, at

Plate5.

Upper:Campat AstillerobelowTorontoy.

Lower:UrubambaRiver above SantaAna 19

Upper: TimberlinenearCedrobamba

Lower:Forests nearCedrobamba. 22

Plate9.

Upper:ChauillayBridgeover theUrubambaRiver.

Lower:SantaAnaValley, LowerUrubambaValley 23 6

THE DISTRIBUTION OF BIRD LIFE IN THE

AIREPORT ON THEBIRDSCOLLECTED BY THE YALEUNIVERSITY-NATIONAL

GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY'S EXPEDITIONS

tigations which have made the country explored so widely known, but also researches in other branches of science, the whole beingdesigned to form a comprehensive survey of the physical conditions

and biologicalresources of the area underconsideration

The taskof makingcollections invertebrate zoologywas entrusted

to the well-known naturalist, Edmund Heller, formerly of the

Bio-logical Survey, and the representative of the United States National

Museum on the Koosevelt Expedition to British East Africa Thefact should be emphasized that Mr Heller's first object in the field

was the collection ofmammals, andevery one familiarwith the

diffi-culties of mammal collecting in the Andes will appreciate the skill

and energy he displayed in amassing a collection of no less than 884specimens.1

In collecting birds Mr Heller attempted to secure species ratherthan specimens and his collection, therefore, contains a much larger

number offorms thanits size wouldlead one to expect

Mr Heller was in the field from April to November, 1915, during

which timehe madecollectionsfrom theupperlimit oflife above the

La Eaya Pass (altitude 14,200feet) to the denseforests ofthe humidTropicalZoneinthe Rio Comberciato (altitude 1,800feet). Betweenthese extremes he worked at intermediate points representing every

life zone in both its humid and arid aspects Heller's work in the

forests of the humid Temperate Zone at timber line (approximate

7

8 BULLETIN 117, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM.

altitude 12,500 feet) is of special importance This zone has been

previously explored in Peru only in the district about Maraynioc in

theEasternCordillerasomewhatnorthofthe latitudeofLima, where

von Tschudi, Jelski, and Kalinowski secured a surprising number ofdistinctnewforms Therainfallwhichproduces theforestcharacter-

izing thehumid Temperate Zone is also, inameasure,responsiblefor

our ignorance ofits life. The rain creates not only forests, but alsorivers, andtherivervalleysform thenaturalsitesfor thetrails which

connectthehighlands andlowlands Whenthecollector,infollowingthese trails, reaches the regionof Temperate Zoneforests, his pathis

farbelow them andhe thuspassesunderazoneofexceptional

interest-I had this experience in the Eastern Andes of Colombia between Bogota and Villavicencio;

2 while Kalinowski, who collected duringseveralyears intheUrubambaregion, appears notto have workedin

the forests of the humid Temperate Zone, though he lived within a

fewmiles of them

The authorities oftheYaleUniversity-NationalGeographicSocietyhavinghonored me by a request toreport uponHeller's collection ofbirds,1decidedto alteranitinerary alreadymadeforareconnaissance

inSouthAmerica, on whichI was tostartfourdays after thisrequest

was received, to permitme to make a hurriedjourney downthe

Uru-bambaValleyas far asSantaAna Thiswas doneunder the auspices

of the institutions justnamed.

Leaving Cuzco with our pack animals on July 1, we returned to

that city on July 24, making meanwhile 13 camps in localities resenting all the faunal areas of the region, except the humid Tem-perate and humidTropical Zones,which the verylimited time atmy

rep-command prevented me from visiting Unfortunately it had not

been possible to make a critical examination of Heller's collections

before leaving, or to examine his field notes, nevertheless I realize

that withoutthis personal experience, brief as itwas, Ishould not be

in a position to prepare even the provisional discussionof thefaunalproblems of this region which is presented beyond

I was accompanied on this short expedition by that veteran lector, George K. Cherrie, and by my son, Frank M Chapman, Jr.,

col-and at Tirapata we were joined b}^ HarryWatkins, a resident

natu-ralist who for some years before had been securing birds for the

American Museum. Cherrie was thesameinvaluable lieutenant that

he hasbeen onformer occasions, and Watkinsproved anefficient aid.

Withthebalanceleftfromthe appropriationmadefor thisexpedition

by the National Geographic Societ}^, Watkins was later employed to

makecollections at La Raya and in the Cuzco districtin April, 1917.Cordial acknowledgement for assistance in the preparation of thepaper is due my staff associates, Mrs A K Fraser, Mr Ludlow

BIRD LIFE IN THE URUBAMBA VALLEY OF PERU 9Griscom, Mr W DeW. Miller, Mrs E M. B Reichenberger, andMr.Charles H Rogers To Mrs ReichenbergerI am especiallyindebted

for a preliminary examination of specimens which greatlyfacilitatedtheir final determination I have also to thankMr Outram Bangsfor the loan of specimens from the collections under his charge, and

Mr L S. Blaisdell, of Arequipa, and Senor Carlos Duque, of Santa

Ana, for courtesies and hospitalities extended to us in the field.

PREVIOUS ORNITHOLOGICAL WORK IN THE URUBAMBA VALLEY.

Sofar aspublished recordsgo, our knowledgeofthe birdlife of the

Urubambaregionis basedupon thecollections made by Whitely and

Kalinowski andreporteduponrespectivelybySclater andSalvinand vonBerlepsch andStolzmann,references to whose works areincludedbeyond

Castelnaudescended theUrubamba fromnear Cuzco to theUcayali

in the autumn of 1846, but beyond a reference 3

to the rock, under the "Vallee deSanta Ana,"I find no mention of the bird

cock-of-the-life of the districthere under consideration in his works

WHITELY'SCOLLECTIONS.'*

The first bird collector to enter the Urubambaregion was Mr H.Whitely, who, during the course of explorations in southern Peru,extending over a number of years, visited Tinta and vicinity in theuppervalleyinAugust, 1868, and theSanta AnaValleysubsequently

From the first-named region he secured a fairly representative

collection, but the collection from the Santa Ana district isfar from

complete A list of Whitely's localities in the Urubamba Valleyfollows

Tinta (altitude, 11,329 feet).— A small town midway between La Raya and Cuzco It is in the Puna Zone, but the occurrence of

Diglossa hrunneiveniris and Thraupis darwini laeta indicates that it

isnotfarabovetheupperlimitsofthearidTemperateZone Whitelycollected at andnear Tinta from Mayto August, 1868, securing 131specimens of 46 species, among them the types of Lessonia niger

oreas, Agriornis insolcns, and Pocspizopsis caesar.5

Pitumosrca.— A village near and slightly higher than Tinta

(alti-tude, 11,329 feet) in theupper Urubamba Valley, visited by Whitely

in 1868 Type locality of Columba albipennis

Tungasuca.— A village near and slightly higher than Tinta

(alti-tude, 11,329 feet) in theupper Urub<ambaValley, visited by Whitely

in 1868

Iluiro (altitude, 4,800 feet).— A settlement about 8 miles east of

the junction of the Vilcabamba with the Urubamba at Chauillay

6 Idem.

10 BULLETIN 117, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM.

Bridge It is evidently in the arid Tropical Zone, most of the 25species secured here by Whitely being also found at Santa Ana.

Type locality of Thamnophilus melanochrous*

Maramora (altitude 4,000 feet).— A hacienda in the lower

Uru-bamba (Santa Ana) Valley between Chauillay Bridge and Santa Ana Thecountryisessentially likethat about SantaAna Whitely

secured 22 species here

Potrero (altitude 4,500 feet).— Ahacienda above Santa Ana on the

way to Idma The immediate surroundings resemble those found

at Santa Ana Whitely secured 10 species here

KALINOWSKI'S COLLECTIONS.*

The well-known collector of Peruvian birds, Jean Kalinowski,

made a small collection in the vicinity of Cuzco and a larger one in

the Santa Ana region They were reported upon by Berlepsch and Stolzmann who regret their inability to give details of Kalinowski'sjourney other than the dates at which he visited various localities,

and who present no general remarks upon the faunal questionsinvolved I transcribe the dates published by the authors named.

Cuzco District.—Cuzco, May 13, 1894; January 17, 1898; Urquillos,

January 30, 1896; Suriti, May 13, 1894; Luatanay, May 22, 1894;

SanGeronimo, March 8, 1896; Curahausi, May 10, 1894; Licamachay,

May 1, 1894; Vilcabamba, June 27, 1894; June 24, 25, 1895 In

all, 13 species are recorded from these localities, the result,

appa-rently, ofincidental collecting Tanagra darwinilaeta was described

from Cuzco

Santa Ana District.— Santa Ana, June 2-22, July 5-11, August

28, September8-22, November2-22,December4-19, 1894; Echarati,

September 16, 1894; Pacaymayo, June 1, 1894; Idma, June 30,

July 1-31, August 2-30, October 11-31, November 2-24, 1894;

June 7, 1895; Paltaypampa, November, 1894; June, 1895; Pampa

de Derrumbe, June 1, July and October, 1894; Potrero, October,1894; Puna de Idma, November 24, 1894; Tambillo, September 5,

1895; Casinchihua, May 7, 1894

Santa Ana itself and Idma were the two principal stations for the

133 species recorded from the district, 56 being taken at the

first-named, 75 at the last-named locality It should be noted that theentry in this paper of "Idma, Sta Ana," does not mean Idma and Santa Ana, but Idma in the district of Santa Ana The difference

is important, since Idma is in the humid Subtropical Zone This

fact should be especially noted in connection with the list of newformssaidtohave been described from Santa Ana,7

only threeof theninementioned actuallyhavingcome from thatplace They are the

.

BIRD LIFE IX THE TJRUBAMBA VALLEY OF PERU 11

following: Nothura maculosa peruviana, Myiozetetes similis nivms, and Sporophila gutturalis inconspicua

con-The following were described from Idrna: LopJiotriccus aecristatus hypochlorus,Buthraupiscucullata saturata, andBasileuterus

squam-sinnatus Of the remaining three birds in this list of nine said tohave been described from Santa Ana, two are from Chirimoto in

the Chachapoyas district of northern Peru, and onefrom La Merced

in the Chanchamayo district east of Lima

COLLECTIONS OF YALE UNIVERSITY-NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

SOCIETY'S EXPEDITIONS.

As mentioned above, the Heller Expedition was in the field from

April to November, 1915; the Chapman Expedition from July 1 to

July 24, 1916; Watkins collected alone from April 3 to 25, 1917,and in 1914 made a small collection for the American Museum nearCuzco The results of this collectingform the material basis of thepresent paper and may be summarized as follows:

Numberof specimens HellerExpedition 757

Watkins'sCuzcocollection 95 Totalnumberof specimens 1, 833

The total number ofspecies recorded by Whitely and Kalinowski

is 202 From essentially the same region in which these collectorsworked we secured 291 species Adding to this number the speciestaken by Hellerin the humidTropical Zone on the Rio Cosireni and Rio Comberciato, a zone the collectors above mentioned did not

enter, and 43 species which they secured and we did not, and we

have a total of 380species known from the UrubambaValley ther exploration, particularly in the humid Tropical Zone, would

Fur-greatly increase this number As a result of three and half years'

collecting in a section from the Puna Zone at Lake Junin to thehumid Tropical Zone at the eastern base of the Andes, Kalinowskisecured 483 species Adding to these, 66 species taken in the sameregion by Jelski, but not by Kalinowski, we have a total of 549

This number doubtless fairly represents the avifauna of the regionexplored, but further work in the humid Tropical Zone would un-questionablyincrease it. Our work in this zone was only sufficient

toshow thefaunal affinities of our two stations in it. I believe also

that theforests of thehumid Temperate Zone contain a considerablenumberofspecies not representedin our collections, andit is certainthat additional species could be secured in the forests of the Sub-

tropical Zone, their density and the plrysical difficulties of mountaincollectingmakingitfarfromeasytotake a censusoftheir inhabitants

12 BULLETIN 117, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM.

Thecollectionsfrom the aridTemperate Zone and fromtheParamo

orPuna Zone are doubtlessreasonably complete In both zones thefauna is comparatively limited and the open nature of the countryrendersit difficult forbirdsto escape observation

DESCRIPTIONS OF COLLECTING STATIONS.

Thedetaileddescriptionsofthecollecting stations, prepared chiefly

by Heller, which are given beyond may be prefaced by an outlinewhich, avoiding repetition as much as possible, may give consecu-

tivelythemoresignificantfeaturesofthecountryunderconsideration

astheyaffectthe distributionofbird-life.

Asusedhere, theterm UrubambaValley, isdesigned toinclude the

district through which the Urubamba River flowsfrom its source at

La Raya to its entrance on the forested Amazonian plains at thePongo de Mainique Our surveyincludesnot only the shoresof the

river but the slopes arising from it and crests overlooking it, all

(ex-cepting "OccobambaValley") inUrubamba drainage

Thecausesunderlyingthetopography and climatic conditions,bothgeneral and local, of this region are fullytreated in Bowman's "The Andes of Southern Peru,"8 a work which may stand as a model ofobjectiveobservation and subjective consideration

Myexperiencein other parts oftheAndes confirms theopinion pressed, I believe, by ProfessorBingham, that the Urubamba regioncontains the most impressive scenery of the entire Andean system.Certainlyno other sectionof thisgreatmountain chainhas beenmoreadequately photographed, but, although I was familiar with the re-sults achieved and had seen the best of them as enlargements or

ex-lantern-slide projections, theygave me but a faint conception of themagnitude,grandeur,anddiversityofthesceneryoftheregion Any

attempt on my part to describe its beauties would therefore be notonly foreigntomy theme butfruitless.

So gradualis the slopefrom the shoresofLakeTiticacaoverthe oldlakebedto thepass atLa Raya, so flatthe grass-covered valleyfloor,

that no striking topographic features announce the approach of thedivide between Titicacan and Amazonian drainage Only theaccelerated motion ofthetrain as itstartsdown the steepergrades oftheupper UrubambaValleytellstheunobservanttravellerthathehaspassed the highest point (altitude 14,010 feet) in his journey from

Titicaca to Cuzco

The countryimmediately south ofthe Passisdry, upland pasture;but withinafew yards northofthePassoneentersanareaofmarshes,

springs,small streams, andlagoonsinwhich theUrubambaRiver has

its origin The changeis abruptand striking and is accompanied by

^American Geographical Society.

BIRD LIFE IN THE URUBAMBA VALLEY OF PERU 13

a change in the character of the bird-life, evident even from thewindow of a moving train, geese (Cftloephaga), ducks of several

species, ibis (Plegadis), coots (Fulica), replacing the occasional

flickers (Colaptespuna) seen on the Titicacan side. (PL 2)

Nota tree, nor indeedanysuggestionofbushygrowth, is seen; theregionisabovethelimit ofcultivation andistypicalPuna.

About 20kilometers north of the Pass, and nearly 2,000feetbelow

it, barley and low hedges of cactus were first observed, and bushesborderedthe streams, indicating thatwe hadreached thevery tipsof

the arms of the arid Temperate Zone which stretch upwardinto thePunaZone

We have had nocollecting stationsbetween La Raya andCuzco,butthe presence in Whiteley's collections from Tinta (altitude 11,329

feet), about 12 kilometersnorthofSicuani, ofDiglossabrunneiventris,Tanagra darwini laeta, and Saltator albociliaris supplies the ornitho-

logical evidence of the existence of the arid Temperate Zone at thispoint

Near Huambutio the railway leaves the Urubamba to ascend the

Rio Huatanay to Cuzco We did not see the Urubamba again until

wereached itatthemouthoftheHuaracondo Canyon (altitude9,800

feet) well within the limits of the arid Temperate Zone However,

Watkins'scollectionsfromPisac(altitude 10,060 feet) andCalca

(alti-tude 9,957 feet), both on the Urubamba, acquaint us with the acterofthe faunaofthe intervening country

char-Ourroutefrom Cuzcolayslightlynorthofwest throughTtica-Ttica,Puquiura,thePampa ofAnta,and Huaracondo, whence wedescendedthecanyonofthatname. (PL 3.)

After leaving Ttica-Ttica (altitude 11,900 feet) we traversed aratherflatcountry withageneral elevationof11,200feetand bounded

bygrass-covered rollinghills, broken here and there by barrancas.Theregionhasbeenundercultivationfor centuries Anoccasional

treewasseen onthe hilltops, but if a forestever existed here, it haslong since disappeared, and the train after train of wood-ladenburroswhich one passes show that the ceaseless demand for fuel isnow supplied from farther down the valley

The hillsides have some stunted, bushy growth which attains the

size ofsmall trees along the borders ofstreams in the barrancas.Faunally the regionis still oneofinterpenetration ofthePuna andarid Temperate Zones, the former occupying the open country, the

latterconfined largely to thegrowthin the barrancas, asis describedmorefully beyond

Soon after leaving the tableland at Huaracondo we quicklydescended 1,000 feet down the trail leading to the bottom of the

Huaracondo Canyon where a rushing river offers a suitable home

for dippers (Cinclus) and torrent ducks (Merganetta)

14 BULLETIN UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM.

The decrease in altitude and the presence of water combine to

produce considerable bushy and arborescent growth with a sponding increase in the number of arid Temperate Zone species.Country of essentially this type (see Heller's descriptions under

corre-Chospiyocand Ollantaytambo) prevailed down theUrubamba Valley

untilwe reached a short distance belowTorontoy (which see), where

at thebottomofthe canyon and on the steep slopesarisingfromitwe

saw thefirsttraces of forestgrowth, and atthesametimeentered the

upper border of the Subtropical Zone

Paroquets (Aratinga m. mitrata), ant thrushes (Tliamnopliilusmelanochrous), flycatchers (Knipolegus), vireos (Vireosylva j.

josephae), warblers (Myioborus m. melanocephalus and Basileuterus

luteoviridis signatus), and other characteristic subtropical speciessuddenly became common, and a single cock-of-the-rock was seen

From thispoint the vegetation increased in luxuriance In placesthe narrow floor of the canyon was grown with highly developed

forest which, unbroken, covered the slopes that were not too steep

to permit of tree growth (PI 6.)

Theregion seemedwell adapted to thewants of birds, neverthelesscomparatively few were seen and it was only by the most diligent

collecting that we secured a fair number of specimens It should,however, be remembered that the season was midwinter (July) and

but few birds were in song Day broke in almost complete silence

An occasional cassique (Ostiuops atrovirens) called, a wood wren

(HenicorJiina) sang at intervals, but the croak of toucans and thecooing of doves, which form so prominent a part of the morning

chorus in the subtropics and humid tropics, were wholly wanting.Shortly before reaching San Miguel Bridge, at the base of the

mountain on which lie the ruins of Machu Picchu, made known tothe world by Professor Bingham's explorations, the luxuriantforestgrowth disappears and we quickly pass into the upper border of the

arid tropics with its low scrubby growth in which acacias and cacti

characterize the vegetation and Taperanaeviaand Tliraupisepiscopusthebirds (PI 5.)

Santa Ana, the end of our journey down the valley, is in theheart

of this arid Tropical Zone, which extends at least to Echaratiwhere

theforest of the humid Tropical Zone is said to begin This we didnot reach and our only collections from it were made by Heller at

Rio Cosireni and Rio Comberciato about 50 miles below Echarati

From Santa Ana we ascended the mountain slopes to the tropical Zone at Idma, finding there essentially the same species asoccur in this zone above San Miguel Bridge

Sub-The more detailed description of our collecting stations follows:

La Raya (altitude 14,010 feet, PunaZone).— The pass atLaR&ya,

Headwaters ofthe Urubamba Riverat La Raya Pass.

BIKD LIFE IN THE URUBAMBA VALLEY OF PERU 15

Amazonian drainage The ascent from the Titicaca Basin is verygradual; the descent toward Cuzco is more rapid, the last 30 kilo-

meters of the ascent giving an increase of only 412 meters as

com-pared with afall of647 metersfor thefirst 30 kilometersbeyond the

divide

The Urubamba River has its origin in the marshes and lagoons

which lieimmediatelybelow the Pass (PI 2.)

Whileat andnearLa Raya, November9-25, 1915, Hellercollected

only mammals and our collection of birdsfrom that place was made

by Watkins Beyond such widely distributed species as Nycticoraxnaevius, Falcofusco-caerulescens,Brachyspiza capensis peruviana and

some others, thespecies secured are characteristic of the Puna Thefollowing description of the region was written by Heller:

LaRayaPass is an open, level-floored valley, grass-covered and dotted bysmall lagoonsand marshystreams. Boundingthe valley floor are rounded, grass-covered

of the Pass a viewofsnow-capped peaks, their sides furrowed byglaciers, may be

obtained, butto the westthe ridges are lowerand withoutpermanentsnowfields.

Thetemperatureherewas decidedlycool, orevenbitter,duringthedaywhenthe

windwasblowing,and at night therewas hoarfrost. Duringour stay inNovember

wewerevisitedevery evening aboutsunset bya violentthundershowerofanhour's duration. Thestormusually resolved itself into a hail or sleet affairaccompanied

by aheavyartillery ofthunderandflashes of lightningwhichsweptover the

land-scapeuntil dark. Thedays werebrightwith sunshineand as a rule calm, butthe

temperaturewas always bracing, althoughthesun was powerfulenoughto meltthe light coating of sleet of the previous night's storm.

Theregion ofLa Raya is quite treelessand to all appearances bushless as well.

Tussocksof coarsebunchgrasswithsharplyspikedblades are the all-pervading floral

feature. Other species of more tender grasses, on which the flocks of llamas and

alpacas feed,grow withthese,but theyaremuchless conspicuous. Matlike clusters

of small brilliantlygreenherbsgrowin thedampmeadows, but suchare quite like in general appearance. Ontherockyhillsidesamidthe shingleandgravel are

grass-found clumpsof ayucca or Spanish bayonet with whorls of grayspinyleavesand

tall dried flower stalks of past seasons still standing. Acactus, a smallwhitesilky cereus,growssparingly at this altitude. One of thefewflowering plants seenherewas a nettle-leaved herb bearing showy, poppy-red flowers. A few inconspicuous

flowers of anemone-like appearance were seen in the meadows High up on the hillsides a few verdant bushes were encountered, but they were verylocal in dis- tribution.

Watkins' Expedition, April 3-13, 1917, 142 specimensof40species

Pisac (altitude 10,060 feet, junction of arid Temperate and PunaZones).— A town in the Urubamba Valley about 7 miles northeast

of Cuzco

Watkins' Expedition, April 17-20, 1916, 65specimensof23 species

Calca (altitude 9,957 feet, junction of arid Temperate and PimaZones).— A townintheUrubambaValley nearUrubambawithessen-

tially thefauna of the Cuzco district.

Watkins' Expedition, April 21-25, 1917, 34 specimensof2Jspecies

16 BULLETIN 117, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM.

Ttica-Ttica (altitude 11,900 feet, junction of arid Temperate and

PunaZones).— ThefirstcampoftheChapmanExpeditionwasjustoff

the Incan highway whichleaves Cuzco through the Ttica-Ttica Pass,

and about3 miles westby north of that city. Itis a region ofhills,

valleys, and barrancasdevoted to grazing and the growing ofbarley

Although ourvisitwas madein theheart ofthe dryseason, therewas

still some waterin the stream beds of the deeper barrancas At the

bottom and onthesides ofthesebarrancasandinthesmaller,tributaryquebradas, therewas more or less low, bushy growth This growth

here marked the upper limit of the arid Temperate Zone, while thegrass-covered areas supported the avifauna of the Puna

At 6 o'clock in the morning the mercury at this camp registered

consid-who collected here at Chospiyoc (which see). Our camp was at

"Pumatales," the hacienda of Senor Silva, at an altitude of about

10,000 feet, and apparently near the point at which Heller worked

At 6 o'clockin themorning, July23, themercuryregistered 32°F

Chapman Expedition, July 23, 1916; 55 specimens of 23 species

Chospiyoc (altitude 10,000 feet, junction of arid Temperate and

Puna Zones).—Heller's station in the Huaracondo Canyon,

evi-dentlynear the point at which the ChapmanExpedition stopped for

one day Thefollowing description was written byMr Heller:Thecanyon of theHuaracondoRiver extends fromthe village of thatnameto the

UrubambaValley,wherethe riverminglesits waterswiththeRio Urubamba

Half-way downthe canyonis situated Chospiyoc, a collection of cultivated fields, a hut,

anda rickety bridge consisting oftwo crookedlogsspanningthe stream. Thecanyon

is a perfect V-shape, with steep sidesand a narrow floor occupied chiefly by the 6tream. Chospiyoclies at 10,000 feet altitude,andthe precipitous sides of thecanyon

riseaboveitsome3,000 feet to the general level of theAndeanranges here. Thewalls

throughoutall tins halfmileof verticaldepthare alluvial deposits of gravelandclay,

withnorock massesof large extent in place. The boulders lining the creekmargin

are many colors—white marbles, gray limestones, blackish slates, red porphyries,

andmanyothers.

Ourcamp waspitchednear the bridge, butacross the stream from the cultivated

peach and appletreeswere laden withripe fruit,andthe grainwasalso quitemature

Theclimate is quitedryat this point,mostof the moisture falling at the higher

alti-tudes,on the summits of the ridges, where the clouds are held. Rain was falling

abundantly at night in the region drained by the Huaracondo River, which wasa

Chospiyoc\ 3 temperate, the days are pleasant and the nights cool, but not bitter.

ThenaturaU.reeflora isquite extensive in species, buttrees arenowhere numerous

U S.

Camp at Ttica-Ttica

Mtitude 12,000 feet Open country, Puna Zone; bush-grown "quebradas," arid Temperate Zone.

Photographed by Chapman, July 3, 1916.

HUARACONDO RlVER AND 'IN THE DISTANCE) TOWN

Photographed by Chapman, Jr., July 4, 1916.

HUARACONDO CANYON AT ITS ENTRANCE TOTHE URUBAMBA CANYON.

BIRD LIFE IN THE URUBAMBA VALLEY OF PERU 17

Straggling willows and alders line the river margins, beneath which are smaller

bushes ofmanysorts,but there are no groves or clump of trees. Onthe flat land

and lower hill-slopes afewstunted pepper trees carryonabravestruggle for

exist-enceagainst theaxof thewoodgatherers.

Muchof the valley floor is covered bya growthofcompositebushesof thegenus

Baccharis,whichare the chief thicket-forming shrubs. Onthe drier slopes farabove

the creek theyuccaorSpanish bayonetclings to the gravelly banks,andat rare vals a giant cactus, a species of Cereus, stands conspicuousand grotesque amid the

inter-bushes and rocks. The smaller spiny tree cactus i3 also found here, as well as

numerousotherspinybushes,suchas the barberry, Berberis flexuosa, Colletia spinosa,

and Schinus dependens (PI.4.)

Heller Expedition, late April 14-23, 1915; 34 specimens of 19

species

OUantaytambo (altitude 9,300 feet, arid Temperate Zone).—Thisstation lies in the arid Temperate Zone, the bushy and-arborescentvegetation found here on the valley floor offering a home for such

characteristic species of this zone as Anaeretesjlavirostris, Saltator

albociliaris, and Diglossa brunneiveniris Here, as we descended the

valley, wefound thelast evidencesofthe Puna Zonein Colaptespuna

and Cinchdesfuscus rivularis. (PL 4.)

Mr Heller supplies the following notes on this station, at which

theChapman Expeditioncollected only on July 5

Oneof the ancientIncastrongholdswasthe city ofOUantaytambo,situated some

10 leagues northwestofCuzcoin theUrubamba Valley at an altitude of 9,300 feet.

At this point the valley has great depth,- the riverhaving cut itsway through the

eastern cordillera of theAndes Oneither side towergreat cliffs to a height of 4,000 feet or more, theirsummits splintered into many fantastic-shaped pinnacles. The

Tock formation is chiefly a yellowish flinty shale; in the immediate vicinity, but

across the river,onthewesternside of the valley, are areas of reddish granite,black

along the valley approachesof theUrubamba and the tributary stream of

OUantay-tambo Creek. In the neighborhood of the town the valley floors have been verted into great level terraces of a rich, black soil, free of rocks, which isdevoted

con-to the cultivation ofmaizeandwheatchiefly. Theclimate is quite dry,andto vide against crop failures a series of canals for carryingwaterto the fieldshave been

pro-in use here spro-ince ancient times.

OUantaytambowasour base station, andthither I returned at intervalsduringmy

eightmonths of field work. DuringApril the rainy seasondrawsto a close, rain

fall-ing in the nightand then only in intermittent showers. May andJune are bright, clearmonths, butJuly furnishes afewshowers, whichagain givewayto adryseason

inAugust and September Rainin considerable quantities falls in October, andthe

countryunder these deluges blossoms verdantas our ownspring in the north. We

may consider April toMay the fall, July midwinter, owingto its greater cold, andOctobera springmonth, to continue the comparison. Thereare, however, peculiar contradictions in the actions ofsome cultivated plants. Uponour arrival at OUan-

taytamboin early April the peach and cherry treeswerein blossom, as well as ing nearly ripe fruit, apparentlymakingabraveattempttocombinespringand fall.

bear-Thenative mountain-side shrubs, however, did notblossom as a unit until October,

whenthe giant cactus, Cereus,andherbs generallyputforth their floral efforts. Some

of the native plants, such as the golden-flowered Spanish broom and Stenolobium

2787—21 2

18 BULLETIN 117, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM.

bushes, blossomedin April and May Duringthedrymonths the nightswere cold, often bitter, thedaysbrightand fresh, accompaniedbyastrong daily breeze upthe

valley, lastingfromnoonuntil sunset. The mountainslopeswhich wall in the city

ofOllantaytambohave adecidedlyarid appearance, the scattered vegetation of tus andstunted bushes being farfrom adequate to cover the brownrocks and soil.

cac-Bordering the stream is a scattered growth of willows, alders, cherry trees,

Stenolo-bium, a saxifrage tree (Escallonia), Spanish broom, Baccharis bushes, «and others.

Well abovethe valley the slopesandridgessupportvarious grasses.

Heller Expedition, April 25; July 20-August 14; November 7-12,1915; Chapman Expedition, July 5, 1916; 68 specimensof 27 species.Occobamba Pass (altitude 13,800 feet; camp, 12,500 feet, PunaZone).— The fewspecimens collected by Heller in this locality show,

asmightbeexpected,thatit isinthePunaZone Thespecies sented include our only specimens of Thinocorus orbignyanus and

repre-Theristicus branicleii as well as examples of Oliloephaga melanopterayNettion oxypterum, Colaptes puna, Geossitta tenuirosiris, Phrygilus

unicolor, etc.

Heller's description of thisstation follows:

Wehave applied thename Occobamba Pass to the pass leading fromthe head of theOllantaytambo Valleyto theOccobamba Valley. The OccobambaPass is trav- ersedby awell-maderoad overwhich considerable traffic is carried annually. The

pass liessomeeight leagues northandabove Ollantaytamboandhas asummit altitude

of 13,800 feet, byaneroidmeasurement Therugged,mountainouscharacter ofmost

Andeanpasses is quitewantinghere,andit is a great relief to findsuch aregion as this,

withgently sloping, roundedhillsandwideshallow valleys. Intheneighborhoodof the pass thecountryhas theappearanceof a rolling prairieona gigantic scale.

dried grass as far as theeyecould see. Nonuderock surfaces,nosnowfields,notree

growths werevisible; allwasa rolling sea ofbrowngrass. Theclimate isdrycompared

to the forestedmontanacountryfarther north,butthe pass receives considerablymore

rainfallthanOllantaytamboowingto its greater elevationand proximityto thesummit

ridges. Duringour stay inJulytheweatherwasverycold, the coldestweexperienced

in Peru. Thenightswerebitter cold, freezing themarginsofrunningstreams as well

as vessels ofwateractually inside the tent. Themornings, though sunny, werecold, until 9 a m., andthe climatewasbracingeven atmidday Shrubsandconspicuous

herbs were quite lacking here. The bushy growth bordering the stream ceases at 12,500 feet altitude. Rocksurfaceswereseen insomeof the higher tributary valley

above the limits of vegetation, wherea variety of formation of slates, shales, basalts,

andgraniteswerenoted, butin the mainvalley disintegrationhad gone veryfar, all

villages, at altitudes of 11,000 to 13,000 feet, potato culture is extensivelyengagedin, the soilbeingrichblackloam. Mostof the valleys are, however, devotedto grazing herds of llamas, alpacas, sheep, horses, andmules.

HellerExpedition,July 20, 21, 1915; 10specimens of 12species.Occobamba Valley (altitude, 9,100feet, humid Temperate Zone)

—

Oneof Heller's stations above Ollantaytambo The presence here

of Grallaria rufvla obscura, Heliochera cristata, Diglossa personatamelanopis, and Conirostrum cvaereum cinereum indicates thatit is inthehumid TemperateZone, apparentlyat itslower margin Heller'sdescriptionof this localityfollows:

117 PL 5

Camp at Astillero Below Torontoy

by Chapman, July 6, 1916.

Urubamba River Above Santa Ana

Altitude about 3,600 feet Arid Tropical Zone Photographed by Chapman, July 17, 1916.

BIRD LIFE IN THE URUBAMBA VALLEY OF PERU 19Welldownin the OccobambaValley, at a pointwherethe forestedcountry meets

the grassy uplands, we established our camp, ata spot called Tocopoqueyu Thecamp waspitched inoneof the terraced fieldson thewest bank of the creek, atan

altitude of 9,100 feet. During our sojourn here in Julythe weatherwas brightandwarmduring thedayandcool at night,butseldombitter orwindy Thecountry has

apeculiar physical aspect,owingtooneside of the valley, the eastern, being clothed

bya dense forest, and the opposite, or western, being the very antithesis; that is,

grass-coveredand dryin character. Theforestedgeis definitelyboundbythestream

margin, whichis lined byagrowthof alderandwillow trees. Thealders hereform

&considerable part of the forest, and suchas arefoimd growingat a distancefromthe

stream have widespread crowns and a grayish appearance seldom seen in riverside

thegenus Myrica. Bamboo, as usual, forms adense undergrowthin the forest.

Thedirectionand constancyof the prevailingwindshereseemto offeran tion for the extraordinary difference in vegetation on opposite sides of the valley.

explana-Themoist breezescomingupthe valleyfromthe hot lowermontafiacountryare ladenandconfinedtothe eastern side, alongwhichthe mist hangs, leaving thewestern

mist-side open, sunny, and dry. The fauna partakes of thisdivided character also, the

forested side being thehauntsofsuch marsupials as Oriolestes, Peramys, the pygmy

opossum, Didelphis, and manyspecies of forest rodents. On the west side we find white-tailed deer, coyotes, skunks, androdents peculiar to the grassyAndeanZone

Thecountryrock is granite, cliffs ofwhichareexposedfor several milesonthewestern

side (PI "2.)

HellerExpedition, July23-Aug 2, 1915

Torontoy (altitude 8,000 feet, Subtropical Zone).—In descendingthe Urubamba Canyon the upper limit of the Subtropical Zone is

encountered at Torontoy where thefirst evidences of forest aro seen

Cactus, acacia, and other xerophytic forms are replaced by begonias

and bananas and plantains, and such typical subtropical birds asThamno'philusmelanocJirous, Henicorhina I.leucophrys and Myioborus

m.melanoceplialussoon became common The Chapman Expeditioncampedat Astilleroashort distancebelowthesettlementofTorontoy where the growth is more luxuriant than at Torontoy (PI 5.)

Heller's observations are appended:

Atthe entrance to thecanyonof theUrubambastands Torontoy,oncean importantIncastronghold. To-day we find a collection of Quichuahuts set in the unlovelyenvironmentof pig wallows,andthe abiding places of mules, goats, chickens, dogs,and

otherdomesticcreatures Fields ofmaizecling to the steep sidehillson bothsides of the valley,and abovetheseextendthe grass-covered slopesonwhichthe herds graze.

The altitude at Torontoy isapproximately 8,000 feet, and the climate is mild and

pleasant Part of the year,DecembertoMay,is rainy,butmuchof thetimethere is

rangesguardingthe valley. Therock formation is largely granite of a light grayish color Cliffs of this material are seen bordering the river at various places, but the greater part of thecountryis grass-covered or else forested.

The UrubambaValley at Torontoyis adeep V-shaped gorgesome 3,000 or 4,000 feet deep, narrowing into a canyon immediately below this point. The scenery

throughoutthe district is boldandcarried outonagrandscale. Beyond theconGning

ridges of the valley occasional glimpses ofsnowy peaks,whichmarkthemain leras of theAndes, maybe obtained.

Cordil-20 BULLETIN 117, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM.

Growing at the rivermargin are alder and willow trees, forminga sort of border.

Thevalley floor generallyand the lower hillsides arebush-covered by the flowered Stenolobium, small Escallonia trees, pepper trees, giant cactus of thegenus

yellow-Cereus, tree-likeOpuntiacactus, yuccas, anda host of peculiar floral forms.

HellerExpedition,May, 1915;ChapmanExpedition,July 10, 1916;

90 specimens of 33 species

Above Torontoy (Altitude, 9,500-12,000 ft., humid Temperate

Zone).—This region lies wholly within the humid Temperate Zone

Itwas visitedby Heller largelyin search of mammals, but the birdssecured show its faunal affinities to be with those of Cedrobamba.

Heller describes it as follows:

The Urubamba Valleyat Torontoyis unforested, but the mountainslopes of the eastern side far above the ancient villages are clothed by dense primeval forest to the limits ofsnow and glaciers. Inthis elevated forested region I establishedtwo

camps, one attimberlineonthe steepmountainslope, atanaltitude of 12,000 feet,

andthe other in the heart of the forest in a broad, level part of the creek valley, at 10,500 feet elevation. The mountain side at timber linewas so steep that itwas

found necessary to dig out a platform largeenoughfor the foundation of the 8by 10 foot tent which I carried. The camp was pitched on a forested ridge, one side of

which was boundedby astream, and the other by a shallow ravine occupied bya

grizzled glazier of small extent which terminated not far below. The nightswere

bitter cold, and whenthe skywasunclouded theground at dawnwaswhitewith a

heavyfrost. The days as a ruleweremisty, butseldomrainy, the mistbeing ofa

dripping, saturating sort, quite as effective as rain. Earlyin themorningbefore the mists hadrolled upashighastimberline, a magnificentview of the snow peakof

Salcantayandthehighranges overwhichitdominatescouldbeseen across the

Theforest vegetation of the timber-line area nearcampwasmadeupprincipally of three features; tall bamboo thickets, trees, and the shorter grassland of the Andean

Zone Acaenatreesgrewtoimmensesize here,someofthembeing8 feet in diameter.

Much of theveryhighest forestwasmadeup of smallGynoxys trees ofuniformsize

andfreefrombambooor undershrubs. Theground in these forestswascarpetedby

aheavycoat of elastic greenmossintowhichweoftensankankle-deep,whilethe tree trunks and branches were festooned by loads ofgray and blacklichens. The rock formations in theimmediatevicinity ofcampwerehiddenbythe vegetation,butthe higher slopes abovethe limits of vegetation appeared tobe darkgray slates in com-

position.

The central camp was established in the middle of awide part of the valley of

Torontoy Creekat 10,500 feet altitude at a placewherethe original trail-builders into this unknown forest had erected a temporary hut a few months previously. The

stream ran beside the camp over apebbly bed, limpid, cold and almost tranquil.

On all sides the forest spread completely filling the valley andascending the steep slopes to the lower limits of snowfields at thesummit Thetrees in character differed

somewhatfromthose attimberline, thenumberof speciesbeingconsiderably greater

andtheundergrowthofbushesand bamboomuchmoreluxuriant. Thegroundmoss

andopencharacter of the upperforestwas quite wanting. The climatewasmilder.

Atnight itwascool, butnofrost occurred.

Heller Expedition, May, 1915; 47 specimens of 24species

San Miguel Bridge (altitude, 6,000 feet, Subtropical Zone).— Animportant collecting station for both the Heller and Chapman ex-

The bottom

Forest in Bottom of the Urubamba Canyon Above San Miguel Bridge.

BIRD LIFE IN THE UEUBAMBA VALLEY OF PERU 21

Subtropical Zone, and a short distance below the bridge one passes

into the arid Tropical Zone Above the bridge and for the greaterpart of the way to Torontoy, the mountain slopes, and favorableplaces at the bottom of the canyon are covered with a highly de-veloped, luxuriant cloud forest, the home of such characteristicspecies of the humid subtropics as Pharomachrus auriceps and

Rujricolap 'peruviana (PL 6.)

Mr Heller's descriptionof this locality is appended:

Immediately belowMachuPicchu, onthe floor of the valley, is theBridgeof San

Miguel, overwhichpasses all the trafficbetween Cuzcoandthe lower part of the valley.

Atthis point the walls of the valley rise perpendicularly for 3,000 or 4,000 feet,andin

someplaces,suchas opposite the base ofMachuPicchu, the walls are 5,000 feet high.

Thestream marginof the waters for a short distanceabovethe bridge isborderedby

wide, gravelly bars and forest-grown flats of river alluvium. The bridge stands at 6,000 feet altitudeandenjoys a singularlymildandequableclimate. Thenights are delightfully coolandthedaysare semitropical. Muchof the canyonat this point is

shaded fromthe direct rays of thesunpart ofeachdaybytowering cliffswhichrise verticallyfromthe floor. Agreat variety of treegrowthoccurs along thestream and

the sides of the valleywheretalus slopes offer a foot-hold for vegetation. Thelargest

of the trees isoneof theLeguminosaeof thegenusErythrinawhichbears a profusion of

carmine flowers. This tree isfoundscatteredthroughthe forest bordering the river

its great swollentrunkandwide-spreadcrowngiving it a peculiarly distinct ance. Upon talus slopes and new ground generally grow clumps of the graceful trumpet-trees, Cecrovia, the drooping, lobed, peltate leaves givingthem a graceful distinction Killer figs,withstranglinglimbsandroots fastened to the wall of cliffs

appear-orgrowingasepiphytesonthe trunks of other trees, rearthemselvesineveryavailable nook. Acommonriverside tree is the pacay, bearing sphericalheadsof flowerswhich

are a favorite source of food forhummingbirds Smallferns ofmanykindsaboundin the shade of other trees. Both bamboo and palms are wanting in the immediateneighborhood of San Miguel Bridge. The common trees bordering the stream or

growingonthe alluvial flatswerewillowsandalders (PI 7.)

Heller Expedition, June 17-July 10, 1915; Chapman Expedition,July 7, IS, 19, 1916; 269 specimens of 74 species

Cedrobamba (altitude 12,000 feet, junction of humid Temperate and Puna Zones).— Although Heller collected only 54 specimens at

and nearCedrobamba they form, from afaunalstandpoint, themostimportant part of theentireUrubambacollection Of the30 speciesrepresented, 18 were not found elsewhere, while 8 of theremaining

12 were found only in the Occobamba Valleyor abo^e Torontoy,

localities which evidently lie in the zone (humid Temperate) whichfindsitsupper limitat Cedrobamba. (PL 8.)

Heller's description of thislocality is appended:

Thehighandnarrowridgeupon whichthe ancient city ofMachuPicchuis situated rises in a series of undulations to the southward, the first wave being thepeak of

MachuPicchu, asecondCcorihuayrachina,and the third in a northerly direction the ridge onwhich stand the ruins of Cedrobamba The camp at Cedrobamba, whichhadanaltitude of 12,000 feet,wasplacedahundredfeetbelowthe ruins at thehead

ofoneof the tributaries of theRioAcobamba,a rushingmountaintorrentwhichadds

its waters to theUrubambaamilebelowSanMiguelBridge. Cedrobambais situated

22 BULLETIN 117, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM.

s£

it

8 «

exactlyonthe parting of the great forest of theAmazonianBasinandthe grassland of

the Andeanpamparegion. Theforest at this place stops asabruptlyas if cutbya

knife, quite as sharply as a hedge rowonthe borders

of a lawn;long tongues of forests in places,however,

followupthe creekmarginsor ascend favorite slopes

to a thousand feet beyond the general forest limits.

Thereisnodwarfing of trees or diminution in their

numbersonthe borders. Avariety of treesgrewat the timber-line edge. There were shaggy barked Acaena

ochreata treeswith drooping massesof gray-green

foli-age, small, 'erectGynoxystreeswiththeirdome-shapedcrowns adornedbygolden compositeblossoms, a white-

barked Melastomataceous tree of the genus Miconiatoweredaboveallwithits spiderybranchesspreading

in everydirection. A small, stout-trunked fern, an

arborescent Lomaria, was a constant feature of the forest edge. Bamboo grass(Chusqueaquila) insome

places intertwined its light green stalks with the trees,butitwaschiefly along the borders of streams

and on swampysoil that it nourished. Mossesand

lichens of manycolorsand sorts smothered the tree

trunks and branches, making them in appearance

manytimestheir actual size. Thegray-beard lichen

was the prevalent oneon the terminal parts of the branches,and another, adeep blackspecies, confined

its affections to thetrunksand larger branches.

Be-yondthe forest a luxuriantgrowthof grasscoveredthe

mountain slopes,mingled with which, but in close proximity, were smallhuckleberrybushes, Baccharis

bushes and a few tall herbs. Cedrobamba callywas damp and cold It was at theedge ofa

climati-moreor lesspermanentfogbank,the limits ofwhichseemedto coincidewiththat of the forest.

Rainingreat quatitiesapparentlydoesnotfall here,

but the region is constantlybathed incold mists.

Thenights are coldbut seldom bitter, the daily

ex-tremes of temperature being considerably lessthan

in the drier region fartherinland of equal elevation.

HellerExpedition,May 23-June15,1915;

54 specimensof30 species

SantaAna(altitude3,480feet,arid

Tropi-cal Zone).— The valley of Santa Ana is asemi-arid tropicalpocket shutoff from the

heavyrainfall ofthe trueAmazonianregion

by the rangeof theAndes which liesto theeastward ofit. Bowman ° presents a dia-

gram (here reproduced) of the climate ofthe eastern slope of theAndes and writing

ofSantaAna says:

It willbeseen that the front range of themountains

ishigh enou ghtoshutoff a great deal of rainfall The

5 w

O £

i

TlMBERLINE NEAR CEDROBAMBA.

Forests Near Cedrobamba

BULLETIN 117 PL 9

Chauillay Bridge Over the Urubamba River

Santa Ana Valley, Lower Urubamba Valley

Utitude 3,500feet Arid Tropica] Zone Photographed by Chapman Jr., July 16, 1916.

BIRD LIFE IN THE URUBAMBA VALLEY OF PERU 23

lower hillsandridges just withinthe front range are relatively dry. The deep leys are much drier. Each broad expansion of a deep valley is therefore a dry

val-pocket Into it thesun pours even whenall the surrounding Milsarewrapped in cloud. The greaternumberof hours ofsunshinehastens the rate of evaporationand

Theinfluence of the local climateupon tree-growth is striking. Everyfew days,

evenin the relativelydry winterseason, clouds gatheraboutthe hillsand there are local showers. Thelower limit of the zoneof clouds is sharplymarked andbothat

SantaAna and Echarati it is strikingly constant in elevation—aboutfive thousand

feetabovesea level. Fromtheupper mountainsthe forest descends,withonly small patches of gladeand prairie. Atthe loweredgeof the cloudzoneit stops abruptly

on the warmer and drier slopes that face the afternoonsun and continues on the moister slopes that face the forenoonsunor that slopeawayfromthe sun.

It may be added that this cloud forest, which so strongly

charac-terizes the SubtropicalZone, descends indrainageareas considerably

below the 5,000-foot level—a condition clearly illustrated by a tograph of the western slope of the Central Andos of Colombia pub-lished in my Distribution of Bird Life in Colombia.10 The climate

pho-of theCaucaValley, itmayfurtherbesaid, is dueina largemeasure

to the causes which create semi-aridity atSanta Ana

Santa Ana is historic in the annals of Urubamba ornithology

Formerly the site of a Jesuit Mission it is now a hacienda devoted

to the production ofsugar cane and coca where the unbounded

hos-pitality of the proprietor, Senor Duque, the delightful climate, theease with which adjoining areas may be reachedhaveinduced prac-

tically all the naturalists and explorers who havevisited this region

to makeit, for a time, their headquarters

Kalinowski collected here at intervals from June to December,

1894, securing, according to Berlepsch and Stolzmann11

, examples

of 56 species Various members of the Yale University-NationalGeographicSociety Expedition also stopped at Santa Ana, including

Heller, whosenotes on the region are hereappended:

Thevalley atSantaAnais particularly wide, fully a league,andthe confining slopes are gentle,althoughtheyrise to considerable heightsandgive the valley adeepeffect.

Owingto the greatwidthof the valley,andthe distant position of the6ummitridges, the rain clouds donot collect at this pointbutpass onand hangthemselvesto the higher slopesbeyond WhilewewereatSantaAnain October, thedayswerebright

andclear, butnot far distant couldbeseen the rain cloudsandstorms in progressand

occasionally the thunder reached our ears. The valley floor is covered by a black

humussoil, anddevotedlargely to coca culture, but cane fields arenumerous, and,

at certain seasons,maizealso. Thevalley slopesshowa red soilwhere theyare not grass-covered. Borderingthe river are groves of the graceful algaroba trees, thetimber

of which has been used in the construction of the hacienda buildings which were

originally designed for thepurposeof a mission station CecropiaandErythrina trees border the creeks andfields, but the landscape generally has a highly artificial anddenudedaspect. Thealtitude is 3,480 feet,but owingto the dryness at this particular point, the climate is coolerthanusual at solow anelevation, corresponding to that of

SanMiguelBridge,whichhasanaltitude almost twice as great. The managerof the

24 BULLETIN 117, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM.

hacienda, Don Carlos Duque, informedme that as late astwenty years ago several species of large currasows, guans, parrots, tinamous, andother tropical birds,were

tobe foundin thescrubbyorbush countryin the vicinity, butthat constant shooting

byvillagershadexterminated them (PI 9.)

Heller Expedition, October 25, 1915; Chapman Expedition, July11-14, 1916; 116 specimens of 37 species

Idma (altitude 5,000 feet, Subtropical Zone).— The hacienda of

Idma, some 9 miles southwest of Santa Ana and 1,500 feet above it

isin the humidsubtropics Traces offorestfirst appear at an tionof 4,200feet, butthefloor of the valley has longbeen deforested

eleva-and is largely devoted to the growing of sugar cane The steeplyascending mountains are heavily wooded from the valley to their

summits, and a short distance above the hacienda, where our camp

was made, thecountryiseverywhereforested Thefaunaistypicallysubtropical and closely resembles that of the Urubamba Canyon

above San Miguel Bridge Kalinowski collected at Idma chiefly inJuly, August, October, and November, 1894, securing representa-

tives of 75 species.12

Mr Heller'snotes on Idmafollow:

Idmaiswithoutdoubt oneof the rainiest places in all Peru. Thereis scarcelya

daythroughoutthe whole yearinwhich somerain does notfall at this spot. Such

conditions,however, areverylocalandduelargely to thehighforested rangeswhich

overhang the hacienda of Idma A league or two lower down the valley, towardSantaAna, the sun holds swayhalf of the yearat least part ofeach day. Theun-

fortunate inhabitants of Idmahavedaily vistas of sunshinelower downthe valley

through the very raindrops that give this place its distinction. The altitude at thehaciendais 5,000 feet. Thetemperatureisseldomdisagreeablywarmin theday-timeand at night it iscomfortably cool so the climate, barring its wetness,maybe

described as delightfully semitropical.

Originally the slopesandfloor of the valleywere occupiedbyaheavyforestwhichwasremoved centuries ago by the Incas. Within a stone's throwof the cultivated fieldsabovethehaciendathedark primevalforestsweepsdownfromtherangeabove

andbeyond Idmais a cultivatednookof valley projecting into the great forestand

maintained onlybyconstant strife with the forces of nature.

Heller Expedition, October 10-23, 1915; Chapman Expedition,July 11-14, 1916; 239specimens of 72 species

Rio San Miguel (altitude 4,400 feet, humid Tropical Zone).— One

of Heller's collecting stations at the upper margin of the humidTropical Zone Itis describedby him as follows:

Ourintroduction to thelowlandforest of theAmazonbasin took place atSan

Fer-nando,whichis situatedon the upperborders in the hillcountryat the foot of the

Andeancordillera. Thegeographical position of this spot issometen leagues

north-westof the village of Lucmafromwhichit is separated bya high, cold spur of the

Andesinwhichtheheadwatersof the RioCosireni take their rise. SanFernandois

situated welldown in the drainage area of this river at 4,400 feet altitude in the valley

of a tributary stream, theRio SanMiguel, afewmilesaboveits junctionwiththeRio

Pampaconas Thespot towhichthenameSanFernandois attached ismarked bya

singlehutin theneighborhoodofwhichsugar cane, cassava, coffee,groundnuts,

pine-BIRD LIFE IN THE TJRUBAMBA VALLEY 25

apples, bananaa,andafewother tropical fruits aregrownbytheMestizo familywhichmakethis place theirhome Atthis point the valley of theSanMiguelis wide, level,

anddensely forested.

The climate has the delightful balmy qualities of that of San Miguel Bridge and

Huadquina, combined with a somewhat greater degree of heat and much more

humidity Onbrightdaystheweatheris reallyhotbuttheskyas a rule is overcast part ofeachday. During ourvisit in October, rain fellalmosteverynight for afew

hours, usually in theformof athundershower.

Thetreegrowthfills thewholevalleyfromthe floor to thesummitsof the confining ridges. Theforest is of amixedcharacter, thenumberof tree speciesbeinglarge,but

the different species areeverywherescattered so universally that there is reallyno

markeduniformity in the generalappearanceof thewoodland I recognized in this forest several species of trumpet trees, figs, tree ferns, small palms, cedros, etc Traveling, as a rule,wasnot difficultthroughthe forest,exceptnear streamswherethe treeswereboundtogetherbygiant vinesandcreepers.

The chiefavenueof exploration in this region, however, wasthe road cut by the

rubbergatherers for the transport of the rubber fromYuvinitoLucma, and then to

Cuzco Thisroadwascut some 20 yards inwidth through the forest andfollowed the level floor of the valleywherever practical. Travel along thiswide rock-free thoroughfarewasanever-endingsource of delight after the monthsof hardshipsand

conflictwiththe rock-strewn trails of the higherAndes

Heller Expedition, September 29-October 6, 1915; 33 specimens

of31 species

Yuvini, near Rio Cosireni (altitude 3,000 feet, humid TropicalZone).— The Rio Cosireni enters the Urubamba from the southwestsome 65 miles in an air-line north by west from Santa Ana. Thiswas oneof Heller's two stationsin thehumid TropicalZone Speci-mens from it are listed under "Rio Cosireni." Heller writes:Journeyingfromthe village ofLucmanorthwardover thehighridgeswhich bound

theVilcabambaValley, wedropdownat theendof a day's travel into thewatershed

of the Cosireni River. Followingdownoneof theheadstreams, theSanMiguel, wecometo its junctionwiththePampaconasRiver,fromwhichpoint the Cosireniproper

has its originthroughthe united waters of thesetwolarge affluents. Some 6 leagues

beyond,fartherdownthe Cosireni, wecometo therubberstation of Yuvini, lishedandmanaged byaDane,AlvinBerg. The thatchedhuts of the station stand

estab-ona plateau afew hundredfeetabovethe river, andwellbackfromits margin, for the valley here has awidthof a league or more. Flowingpast the stationandsup- plying itwithwater, is a small stream, theYuvini,whichmeanders onto itsunionwiththe Cosireni 2 milesbeyond

Thegeographical position ofYuviniis 10 leagues north ofLucma,ormorecorrectly

westof north of that place,but bythe road it is some 20 leagues, or 3 days' travel

bypacktrain. Yuvini hasanaltitude of 3,000 feet. Atthis elevation, the climate

is tropical andhumid, butthe heat here hasseldomthe oppressive qualitywhichis

encountered1,500 feet lowerdownthe valley.

Duringour 3 weeks' sojourn here inAugustandearlySeptember, part ofeachday

wasovercastbyrain squallsand thunder showersof short duration. Theair at

mid-day was heavywithmoisture,andrain fell at frequent short intervals interspersedby

bright intense sunshine Berg, who had been a resident for 15 years,informedme

that thiswasthe usual sort of weather,andthateven duringthe height of the rainy season,some monthslater, therewas seldomadaywithoutsomesunshine.

When we arrived in mid-August, the riverwas clear and low but frequently it

became adarkbrown flood, androse rapidly involumeowingto heavyrains in its